Almost two months in custody Man steals 8.85 francs from Coop and ends up behind bars
A shoplifter steals 8.85 francs worth of food from the Coop. A scuffle ensues. The man is remanded in custody for 54 days - and now receives satisfaction.
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- A shoplifter steals 8 francs worth of food from the Coop.
- He then gets into a scuffle with the store detective.
- The man is remanded in custody for 54 days.
- Now he gets satisfaction.
What began with a simple shoplifting incident ended with a 44-year-old Frenchman spending almost two months on remand - and has now led to a ruling by the Zurich district court.
In August, the man stole an organic milk drink, a packet of cheese and a bottle of Rivella worth CHF 8.85 from a Coop store at Enge station in Zurich, according to theTages-Anzeigernewspaper. However, the situation escalated when he was confronted by the store detective as he was leaving the supermarket: according to the public prosecutor's office, the man allegedly attacked the detective with punches and kicks. His chain and Apple Watch were damaged in the process.
What began as simple theft thus turned into a case of robbery with damage to property - at least from the point of view of the public prosecutor, who demanded eight months in prison.
10,800 francs in compensation
The man's defense lawyer, however, argued that a fine of 100 francs was sufficient, as his client had never been convicted of anything other than a traffic offence. In addition, the defendant suffered from undifferentiated schizophrenia and paranoia, which made the scuffle understandable from his point of view.
In the end, the judge partially shared the view of the defense lawyer. She found that the store detective had acted "over-motivated" and was possibly not recognizable as such to the accused, as the Frenchman only spoke French and the detective only German.
The man was therefore acquitted of the robbery charge and sentenced to a fine of CHF 300 for petty theft, which is considered to have been paid off due to the time he has already served in custody.
In addition, the court ruled that the man should receive compensation of CHF 10,800 for the 54 days he was wrongly remanded in custody. The 44-year-old was immediately released from custody.
